


The day is young

by Thomas_Emerson



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-15 10:46:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2226204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thomas_Emerson/pseuds/Thomas_Emerson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A triple murder, a crime investigation, a child to take care of, and ancient, mysterious forces at play on top of it. ((Stiles Stilinski/Dep. Parrish))</p>
<p>Set after season 4.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A night like any other

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Teen wolf or any of the characters depicted in this fanfiction blah blah blah you know the drill
> 
> About me:
> 
> I am a 21 year old French guy, currently working in a real estate agency. In a few months I’ll be leaving for the UK for 6 months for a work placement and before that I’d like to practise as much as possible which is why I’m writing this fanfiction, which comes as some kind of “exercise”, or "practise", I guess. Thus I would be grateful if you could not be too harsh if my english is a little bad sometimes. Thanks! 
> 
> I've been trying to find a beta and despites my multiples attempts, I failed. If you can help me, or if you know someone who can, please let me know!  
> I'm writing the sixth chapter of this fanfiction at the moment. I'll try to publish one every two to three days. I really wish someone could help me with the mistakes but I'll just go with it I guess.  
> Hope you like it.

At first, Stiles expected this Tuesday night to be a night like any other. It had started normally: just a boring day at school, with way too many hours spent in Coach Finstock’s class and not enough spent with his friends. After that, they’d had lacrosse practice and once again, he had been notable by his incompetence, while Liam, Kira and Scott had been under the spotlight. “You’re just a bunch of show-offs,” had the boy said as the practice ended. Truth be told, he had never considered lacrosse seriously, and cared about it even less now that he was competing with his friends, who weren’t exactly regular human beings but rather supernatural ones. What he liked about lacrosse, and also why he stayed on the team, was because he was both with his friend _and_ part of the winning team.

As dusk fell upon Beacon Hills, he was in his room, doing his homework with Scott. ‘Doing his homework’ was of course the excuse Stiles had given his father to have his friend over, and while they actually had work to do, they had dropped that idea about five minutes ago and weren’t doing any of that at the moment.

Their notebooks laid on the floor, and half of the content of Stiles’s pencil case was spilled around the carpet.

They had heard the Sheriff’s phone ring while he was supposed to be off duty, and Stiles had immediately asked Scott to listen to the conversation. Scott held his ear against the door, concentrating on the noises around and trying to focus on the Sheriff’s voice only. Stiles watched his friend with big, round eyes as he waited for him to tell him what was being said.

“So?” he asked impatiently.

“Hush, I’m trying to concentrate,” Scott said. He wasn’t annoyed at his friend, but hearing what the other person said on the phone required a lot of concentration and Stiles wasn’t helping.

“Oh, sorry. Also, sorry I talked to say I was sorry. And also...”

Scott suddenly looked him right in the eye, startled. “I think he’s coming.” After a few seconds, he nodded, “He’s definitely coming here.”

Both boys hurried to open their textbooks and grab a pen. There were a few knocks and, as the door opened, Stiles pretended to read. “That’s very interesting, don’t you think, Scott?”

John Stilinski sighed. He was no fool. “Stiles, no need to pretend like you’re revising.”

“What if I _am_ actually revising?”

“Then I’d be proud to have a son who can revise while holding his book upside down.”

Stiles frowned and looked down at his book. He let go a little laugh. “What? I just like a challenge,” he teased, putting his book the right way up.

“Whatever,” the sheriff went on. “Look, um. Something came up, and I’ve got to go to the station.”

 “Okay.”

The man crossed his arms. “Promise me you’ll stay here.”

“Yeah, of course! Where would we go?”

“Stiles, I’m serious.”

“Okay,” Stiles sighed, raising his little finger. “I pinky swear it.”

The sheriff rolled his eyes. “Scott, I’m counting on you.”

And with that he left, softly closing the wooden door behind him. The two boys waited for him to get out of the house; after half a minute, they heard his car leave the alley.

“He’s not going to the station, is he?” Stiles asked.

Scott shook his head no. “The person on the phone said that they had found bodies. Two, I think. Maybe more.”

“Where?”

“In the woods, near the lookout point. Some joggers heard screams, so they immediately called the station. The research isn’t over yet because they believe there might be more bodies than the ones they found so far. They suspect the area might still be dangerous.”

Stiles stood up. “Let’s not waste another second. Come on, let’s go to my car,” he said as he paced toward the door.

“I don’t know, Stiles...” Scott mumbled. “Your dad is really counting on me on this one.”

“It’s been so long since we last went out like that! Please please please, come.”

Scott sighed. It never took much for his best friend to convince him to go out. He was right, though: despite being possibly dangerous, the two boys hadn’t gone out together in ages.

They went downstairs, quickly put their jackets on and walked out. After Stiles locked the door behind him, he looked up at the sky. It was still tinged with that odd yet beautiful range of colours – orange, yellow, and even shades of purple.

Stiles had always liked these colours – his late mother did, too. Before she passed away, she would often absentmindedly look through the window, lost in her thoughts. That was something he found himself do often as well. There was something about this assortment of colours that he adored, but he didn’t know what it was.

“Are you coming?” Scott’s voice brought him back to reality.

Stiles shook his head. “Yeah, sorry.”

They took the jeep. As Stiles started driving, Scott went, “Do you think I should call Liam? He needs training and that could be just it.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow at his friend, and then looked back at the road. “I thought we could hang, just the two of us. _If_ things do get spicy, we’ll call him?”

“What do you mean, ‘spicy’?”

“If we find a body and should there be evidences of the involvement of a creature, then we can call everyone else for backup.”

Scott had nothing to say against it. “Fine by me.”

When they finally reached the fringe of the forest, they parked in a dark spot so that the car would remain hidden in the shadows, should the sheriff drive this way before they left.

“Do you catch a scent?” Stiles asked curiously.

“Dude, we’re not even there yet.”

“I was just asking.”

The two boys started walking toward the lookout point, where they believed were the bodies. “Hold on,” Scott suddenly said. “I think I’m smelling something. Stay here.”

And then he ran off into the woods, leaving Stiles completely on his own, his mouth wide open. “What...?” he blurted out. “What am I supposed to do here, Scott, huh?”

But his friend was long gone. _Stupid ass wolf_ , the boy thought to himself. _Thanks for leaving me behind – again._ He knew it wasn’t Scott’s intention to leave him on his own, and he wasn’t really mad at him. But there he was, all alone.

He started walking in the direction where Scott had gone, trying to avoid stepping on roots. Where was his friend now? And more importantly, where was he?

At some point he started making out the lookout point in the distance. Far away in the distance, in between the trees and leaves, he could see the sky, with the shades of purple slowly fading to black. He eventually reached his destination. No sign of Scott. He started regretting his idea, admitting to himself it might not have been a good one this time.

He heard some noises coming from behind him, as though someone was stepping on dead branches. Startled, he turned around, only to face a man holding him at gunpoint.

“Don’t move,” the man said in an authoritarian way.

“Shit,” he muttered, instinctively raising his hands above his head to show he surrendered. “I’m not armed.” He then distinguished the uniform the man wore – it was a police officer.

“Stiles?” the man asked and lowered his gun. “Damn it,” he mumbled as he placed it back in his holster.

As Stiles came to the realisation it was Deputy Jordan Parrish, he lowered his hands and allowed himself to breathe again.

“You shouldn’t be here,” the young officer said. “Your father will not like this.”

“Maybe you could, uh... not tell him?” Stiles pleaded. “Please?”

Parrish sighed, the perspective of lying to the sheriff obviously displeasing him. “Are you alone here?”

Stiles was about to answer when suddenly, there were footsteps not too far away. The deputy immediately turned around, grabbing his weapon and raising it before him. “Who’s here?!” he called.

A small figure approached them, a for a second, Stiles thought it was a wolf, until it got close enough for him to see it was a child. The deputy had seen that as well and lowered his gun once more. “Hey, kid!” he called. “Are you alright?”

Said kid made a few more steps toward them. It was a little girl. She had dark skin and must have been around six, maybe seven years old. Her big, round eyes were green. She was trying to remove the dirt from her messy, untidy hair with one hand; in the other, she held a cuddly toy – a tiny giraffe.

“Where is my mummy?” she asked. “We were taking a walk. Now I think I’m lost.”

The young deputy placed his gun back in his holster again and walked towards her. “Careful there,” Stiles warned. “She might be dangerous.” He had seen his fair share of monsters and knew now that danger came in all shapes and sizes.

Parrish turned his head and gave him a look that silently said _Are you serious right now?_ and kneeled down before her. “Hi, sweetheart,” he smiled. “I’m Deputy Parrish, but my name is Jordan. Wanna tell me yours?”

She nodded and licked her lips pensively. “I’m Jenaiah Davenport – you can call me Jenna if you want,” she replied with a soft, high-pitched voice. “I’m sleepy! I want my mummy...”

“Just hold on a sec, okay?” Parrish turned his head back to Stiles and gestured him to come.

Reluctantly, the boy obeyed. He could tell the deputy was going to tell his dad, he just knew it.

“How far is your car?” the man asked.

Stiles frowned. “Erm, not too far, like four to five minutes on foot, why?”

The deputy nodded. “I can’t let you go on your own right now.” He looked back at the little girl. “Hey, Jenna?” he called, and Stiles was surprised by how soft Parrish’s voice was when he talked to her.

“Hmm?” she replied, holding her cuddly toy against her chest.

“This is Stiles. We’re gonna walk with him for a while, and then we’ll go look for your mom, okay?” She nodded, sticking her thumb in her mouth. “Good girl,” the deputy smiled. “Stiles, take her hand.”

Stiles did as he was asked, as weird for him as it was. If Parrish really was not going to tell his father, then it was the least he could do. He understood a few seconds later when he saw the deputy lead the way with his torchlight in hand.  

“Stiles,” Jenna repeated sleepily as the three of them started walking.

“That’s me,” the boy answered.

“Is it your real name?” she asked. He was struck, not knowing what to say. “I don’t use my real name very often,” she went on. “I prefer Jenna. Stiles is pretty.”

The boy looked up and caught a glimpse of Deputy Parrish smiling, right before the man turned his head.

“I think Jenna is a beautiful name too. But so is Jenaiah,” Stiles assured her.

She gave him a large smile, and he saw that she was missing a teeth. They didn’t talk during the rest of the way. Stiles who was afraid that the girl might trip eventually picked her up and carried her. He hesitated asking her why she was in the forest, but he decided it would be best to let the police do their job for once. He didn’t feel like interrogating this girl.

They eventually reached Stiles’s jeep, and while the boy was disappointed that Scott was nowhere to be seen, he was reassured to find the comforting lights of the road.

Stiles softly put the girl on the ground. “Now you’re good,” he grinned.

Parrish squatted in front of her. “Honey, can you do something for me, please?” She nodded with a smile. “Can you keep what happened between us? Don’t mention Stiles to anyone, please.”

“Why?” she asked, turning her head to the boy. “Are you something special like the tooth fairy? My mommy said the tooth fairy would give me money if I placed my tooth under my pillow tonight.” Obtaining no answer from Stiles, she looked at Parrish. “So? Is Stiles special like the tooth fairy?”

Parrish made eye-contact with Stiles and chuckled for a second, then looked at the girl. “Yeah, he’s special, in a way. If you tell anyone about him, he’ll get in trouble. And we don’t want that, do we?”

She shook her head no. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Alright,” Parrish grunted as he lifted her up.

“Hey, Deputy,” Stiles began, “Thanks, for... you know. Not shooting me, back in the woods.”

Parrish chuckled, holding the girl. “Yeah, well... I’ve got the feeling that your dad wouldn’t have appreciated it.”

“Smart.”

“Jenna? Say goodbye now.”

“Goodbye,” she said. “See you, Stiles.”

“See you, Jenaiah,” he grinned. “And thanks again, Deputy.”

“’Parrish’ works fine, you know,” the man said as he walked away.  

Grinning, Stiles waved at them as they left. In the distance, he heard the deputy call one of his colleagues, informing them that he had found Jenna.

Stiles really hoped the girl would keep their encounter secret. As he got inside his jeep, his phone buzzed and he picked up.

“Scott? Where the hell are you?”

“I’m heading back to your car! You?”

“Hurry! I’m already there.”


	2. The witnesses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no beta. Sorry in advance, and thanks for reading!

A few minutes after the phone call had ended, Scott had arrived to the car. Now Stiles was driving, expecting his friend to explain what had happened on his side.

“I lost the scent pretty quickly. I don’t know what happened, honestly. It just vanished. I didn’t find any body in the woods. So I went to eavesdrop on the police to find out what they knew so far.” He paused for a few seconds.

“So?”

“They’ve found three bodies, in the end. I think I heard a name... Davenport, rings any bells?”

“Shit,” Stiles swore.

“What?”

The boy sighed. “I met Parrish in the woods. We were talking and then... a little girl showed up. Said her name was Jenaiah Davenport. If I understood everything right, she was taking a walk with her mother.”

“As well as her brother and father. All dead,” Scott murmured bitterly.

“Except for her,” Stiles added.

“Except for her,” his friend echoed.

“What about the wounds? What did you hear about them?”

“They all had lots of cuts everywhere. They bled to death. It had to be done with something sharp, but they have no clue what the murder weapon might be.”

“Poor Jenna,” Stiles shook his head. “I don’t know if they’ve told her at this point, but I can only assume she’s devastated.”

Scott looked at him with worry. “We’ll go ask about her later at the station, if you want.”

The boy nodded, appreciating his friend’s concern. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“You’re sure Parrish is not gonna tell anything to your dad?”

“Nope, I’m not sure, just hoping,” he said, although he was pretty sure Parrish wouldn’t spill the beans. What about you? Did anyone see you?”

Scott shook his head no. “Don’t worry about that, I’ve been careful. At least more than you, it seems.”

 

***

 

They were back to the station. Jenaiah stared numbly at the floor, holding her cuddly toy. Jordan Parrish had placed his jacket around her shoulders. He now stared absentmindedly at her from a distance while one of his colleagues talked to him about the case. The girl was in shock. He had been the one to break the bad news to her.

“Hey man, give me a sec, would you?” he said to his colleague, interrupting him.

The man nodded and walked away, muttering something under his breath, vaguely annoyed. The deputy started walking toward the girl when suddenly, the sheriff stopped him, placing his hand on Parrish’s shoulder.

“Do you know what you’re doing with her, Parrish?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

“What do you mean, sir?” the young man frowned.

“Poor girl is pretty shaken up. I wouldn’t know what to tell her, but you seem to have a way with people that I don’t. This girl, she seems to trust you.” He paused to look at Jenaiah, who was rocking back and forth.

“What are you gonna do with her?” the deputy asked. “After the investigation is over, I mean. All her grandparents passed away except her grandmother, who’s in a retirement home here, in Beacon Hills. She’s got no other relative in Beacon County. The closest one she’s got is an uncle who lives in Arkansas.”

The sheriff sighed. “I know. I’ve tried calling him, but once he heard it was about his sister’s family, he hung up. I’ve left a message on his voicemail, but I doubt he’ll care enough to listen.” He shook his head.

“What are you implying, sir?” Parrish asked. “Are you gonna put her in a foster home?”

The man was obviously embarrassed. “I see no other option. Tell me if you do.”

Parrish kept silent. He didn’t know what to say.

“One thing is certain,” the sheriff went on. “She can’t stay here.”

One idea came to the deputy’s mind, one that he immediately regretted having. He looked at the poor girl and felt his heart sink. _No_. That wasn’t even an option.

“Regarding the case itself,” the young man began, “I was wondering if you had any leads yet, sir.”

His superior laid his back against the wall, crossing his arms. He was seemingly exhausted as physically just as psychologically, and it wasn’t due to the fact that he was supposed to be off-duty tonight – at least that much seemed obvious to Parrish.

“Nothing yet. We have the two witnesses to question, and we should hear back from the coroner within the next three hours.”  

“Do you want me to...?”

The sheriff nodded. “Yes, please. The witness I need you to question is over there,” he said, pointing with his chin toward a woman with dark, tight leggings and a white tank top. She sat next to one of his colleagues’ desk, tapping her fingers impatiently against the surface. She must have been about twenty five years old – thirty at most. Her straight, blonde hair was up in a ponytail. The first impression he got from this woman was that she had better things to attend and that somehow this place was unworthy of her presence. “The name is Verity Thorn,” Sheriff Stilinski added, pulling him back to reality. “You can use Interrogation Room 3 if you like.”

It took the young deputy a few seconds to process to the information. “Wait, sir... why use an Interrogation Room?”

The man sighed loudly. “You’re well aware of the... ‘current situation’ here, in Beacon Hills. We can’t be too careful and have to consider everybody as a suspect.”

“Fair enough,” Parrish nodded, although he was almost sure the woman didn’t have anything to do with the case. The interrogation room wouldn’t be necessary.

“Just one last thing,” Sheriff Stilinski stopped him before he could walk away from him. “Did you see my son at the crime scene?”

Parrish looked him right in the eye and shook his head slightly. “No, sir. Should I have?”

“No, no, just wondering. It seems like he listened to me – for once.” And then he left – to interrogate the other witness, Parrish assumed.

The young man glanced back at Verity Thorn. She had stopped tapping her fingers against the desk and was now looking at the ceiling – probably counting the tiles. Most likely bored of her new activity, she sighed and pulled off the hair tie, undoing her ponytail. She then proceeded to run her hands trough her hair to give them slightly better looking curves.

He walked up to her and their gazes met. She had beautiful bright green eyes. She was pretty, he thought, but in a cold way. “Good evening,” he greeted.

“Not that good,” she muttered. “What can I do for you, Mister...” her eyes lowered, lingering a little too long on his upper body as she read. “... Parrish?” she finished.

“Please come with me,” he said, turning around and leading the way. The woman followed him, making no further comment for the moment.

He led her to his office, closed the door behind her and held out a hand to offer her a seat.

“I’d rather stand,” she said. “I’ve got close to nothing to say, so it shouldn’t be long. Thanks for the attention though, though.”

He sat behind his desk. “Please, Ms. Thorn. _Have a seat_. We’ll make everything we can to make this short.”

She sighed loudly and rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her annoyance. “This is pointless,” she said as she sat opposite him. “I’ve already told everything I knew to the sheriff when he asked us to come. It’s my brother who found the bodies.”

“Your name is Verity Thorn,” he began, writing a few notes on his notebook.

“Obviously.”

“Very well. Why don’t you start by telling me what you were doing up there? Tell me the whole story.”

She laid back against her seat. “I went jogging next to the forest with my brother, like _every single day_ after work. Usually we have dinner at my place after that, and that’s where we were headed when it happened. We had run about half a mile when we suddenly heard screams coming from the woods. My brother yelled at me to stay back and ready to call for help. I screamed at him at the top of my lungs, telling him to stay with me but he wouldn’t listen. He didn’t disappear for very long, though. About twenty seconds, he was coming back, yelling at me to call 911, which I did. You know the story from there.”

Parrish nodded, writing the end of a sentence on his notebook. “Okay, I see. May I ask you a few more questions?” he said, and before she could reply, he went on, “The sooner you answer them, the sooner you’ll be out.”

“Fine,” she sighed.

“Do you know the Davenport family? Ethan and Becky Davenport, as well as their son, Anakel?”

Verity seemed to be thinking intensively about it. “Doesn’t ring a bell,” she replied, and Parrish was pretty sure she was telling the truth. “Are they the victims?” she asked.

Parrish thought about it. Whether he told the truth or not, it didn’t matter: she had already guessed the answer to her question. Deciding that lying to her would make no difference, he nodded. “Yes, they are. Was it the first time such an... ‘odd’ thing happened during your jogs with your brother?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure? You might want to think about it a bit longer.”

“You know, I think I would remember it if I had been somehow involved in a triple homicide in the past.”

He chuckled and wrote a few sentences. “Sorry, ma’am. I’ve just got to ask these.”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand,” she muttered, “you’re just doing your job, Mr. Parrish.”

“Exactly. During your jogs, have you ever noticed wild beasts?”

A light smile appeared on her lips. “Oh no, never. But I see where you’re getting at,” she murmured, straightening and closing in on him. “For all we know, a werewolf might have done it.”

The deputy raised an eyebrow. She couldn’t possibly know about werewolves, for two reasons. One, she wouldn’t brag about it. Two, she would know that werewolves claws were too large to do this kind of wound. “Sure,” he said, closing his notebook. “We’re done here. You’re free to go,   
Ms. Thorn.”

For the first time, she gave him a real, large grin as she rose from her chair. “Great. I’m starving.”

He led her out of his office and as they walked out, a muscular, dark-haired man stood up, obviously expecting Verity.

“There you are, finally,” he said. His voice was low and strong, and he seemed very confident. The man, who had a tall figure and fair skin, wore a black tank top that was maybe a little too tight for him. Parrish assumed it was on purpose.

“Let’s go home, Julian,” Verity said as she walked up to her brother. As she caught up to him, she turned around and looked at the deputy. “We’ll meet again, Mr. Parrish.”

“I doubt it,” he replied, crossing his arms.

“I don’t,” she grinned confidently, before walking away with Julian. The young deputy stared at her as she left. He sensed some movement on his right; he didn’t have to turn his head to know it was the sheriff.

“What do you think?” the man asked him.

“Not sure,” he replied. “I don’t think she had anything to do with it. She didn’t seem to know the victims. To me, she saw the whole thing more as an inconvenience than anything.”

“I see. Julian was no different. I mean, he’s the one who found them, but apart from that it feels like he knows nothing about our case. Says that he does that jog every day with his sister. He seems like an alright guy, if such a thing can be said about anyone anymore. Just one thing was kinda _off_ , though.”

Deputy Parrish turned his head and looked at his superior. “What was it?”

“He made a werewolf joke.”

The young man frowned. “So did she.”

“That’s weird. We’ll have to keep an eye on ‘em.”

Both men fell silent. Parrish’s mind drifted toward Jenaiah. “What are we going to do with the girl?”

“Things are kind of... complicated. One thing is sure, she can’t spend the night here.”

The young man slowly turned his head to give his superior a puzzled look. “What are you trying to say, sir?”

The sheriff seemed obviously embarrassed. “It’s late. The poor girl has no family, no one to pick her up tonight. She won’t go with the foster parents we’ve called. She trusts you more than anyone else here – she’s even been asking for you.”

Seeing where he was getting at, Parrish nodded. “I guess it makes sense.” He had thought about it earlier. He could take the girl back at his place, make sure she was okay for the night. At least she wouldn’t be spending the night in the same building as her parents’ and brother’s corpses. She would be safe. Tomorrow they would find her an actual home with kids her age and with adults whose jobs would be to look after her.

“I wouldn’t ask you if I saw any better option.”

“It’s alright, sheriff,” he said. “I’ll do it.”

“Oh, thank God. You’re taking a great weight off my shoulders,” Sheriff Stilinski breathed. “I’ll assign officers to guard your door, so both of you are safe from whomever – or whatever – killed her family.”

“What about tomorrow? What do I do?”

“Bring her here as soon as possible. Who knows? Maybe she saw something in the woods, something that could help us. If she did, we’ll know. But right now, she’s not gonna tell us anything. She better get some sleep.”

The young man nodded. “I agree. I should leave now. Good night, sir.”

“Good night, Deputy.”

The young man made a few steps before his called him. “Parrish?”

He turned his head. “What is it, sir?”

“Thank you for doing this.”

“Just doing my job, sir.”

With that he left, heading for the room where they had been keeping Jenaiah. When he opened the door, the girl’s face lit up with relief. “You’re here,” she said with a broken voice. “I thought you had forgotten about me.”

He shook his head and walked up to her, kneeling down to be at the same height as her. “I won’t forget about you, don’t worry. So, my colleagues told me you did not want to go with the people who were here?” He didn’t want to say _foster family_ just yet. She had just lost her real, actual one.

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “I don’t know them.”

“Alright, that’s fair. Would you be okay with sleeping at my place? I don’t mind giving you my bed for tonight.”

She nodded, and then frowned. “But where will you sleep?”

“I’ve got a couch, which will do just fine.”

The girl looked away, clutching her cuddly toy. “Hmm,” she mumbled. “Okay, I guess.”

“One last thing,” Jordan added. “You’re not allergic to cats, are you?”


	3. Investigating

It was past three in the morning when the sheriff came back home. Stiles was fast asleep, and the sound of the door closing did not wake him up. It did wake Scott up, though. The boy looked at his friend, deeply asleep. After a few seconds, he decided not to wake him up. Whatever had happened would wait. They would get their answers in the morning.

Dawn closed in when Stiles finally woke up. Still rather sleepy, it took him a few minutes to completely surface from under the sheets. After a short moment gathering his thoughts, he remembered what had happened the day before and got up. After giving Scott a glance, he stealthily picked up his clothes on the floor and he exited his room with the hope he hadn’t woken him up.

Once all dressed up, he made his way downstairs, where he found his father dozing in front of his coffee cup – still full. As Stiles stepped into the room, the sheriff turned his head, startled. “Oh, it’s you, Stiles.”

“I know, that’s rather surprising,” Stiles went, “it’s almost like we live in the same house.”

The sheriff chuckled and took a sip from his coffee. Judging from the look on his face, Stiles understood the beverage was still very warm. “Is there any left?” he asked.

“Check the coffee maker. I think there’s still some in there.”

Stiles thanked his father with a nod and paced toward the kitchen, where he indeed found some coffee. Once he had poured some in a cup, he went back to talk to the sheriff. “So...” he began. “Late night?”

“Late night,” his father echoed. “It’s weird that you didn’t show up, by the way.”

Stiles chuckled. “Maybe I listened to you for once.”

“Still, it’s odd. But thank you if you really didn’t come. I hope it becomes a habit.”

“Don’t hope too hard,” Stiles said before taking a sip of his coffee. _Damn that’s hot!_ “So?” he went on. “What about that case?”

The sheriff sighed. “I know you’re gonna find out one way or another, so... I’ll just tell you: it wasn’t pretty. Even though I know you’ve seen your fair share of bloody... gory... stuff.”

Stiles nodded. “So, a murder, huh?”

“Triple, actually. The whole family except the daughter.”

“Really? Where is she now? Who’s taking care of her?”

“One of my deputies took her to his home last night.” It took him a few seconds to notice the puzzled look Stiles was giving him. “I know it sounds strange, but I promise you nothing... _weird_ is gonna happen. He’s a good man and I trust him. He’s the one that found the girl in the woods, and he’s the only one she accepts to talk to. Seemed like a good idea at the time...”

“What, is that Parrish?”

His father frowned. “Yeah, how do you know?”

“You don’t have that many deputies, you know. That was just a lucky guess.” A few seconds went by before the boy went on, “but doesn’t she have any other family member?”

“No,” his father answered, shaking his head slowly. “That’s the thing. What remains of her family is only her grandmother who is in a retirement home, and an uncle who lives in... Arkansas, I think. She only accepted to go with Parrish. Which doesn’t surprise me, in the end. That young man has...”

“A way with people,” they said in unison.

“So... you know him well?” his father asked curiously.

_Uh-oh._ That was awkward. “Um... not really,” he blurted out. “Just, kind of, you know. A little bit.” Not wanting his father to know he had seen Parrish last night, he tried to seem casual about it. Whether his father bought it or not, Stiles didn’t know. “What about the victims?” he asked to change the topic of the conversation. “The injuries they had, I mean. Did it look... kind of... supernatural?”

The sheriff sighed; he knew this was coming. “It’s too soon to be sure.” Seeing that Stiles was about to ask another question, he went, “Hey, Stiles. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for school?”

“I am! I’m drinking my coffee.”

“You’ve literally taken only one sip.”

“So what?!” the boy squealed. “I like to take my time. Also, have you seen what time it is right now? The day is young, old man.”

 

***

 

Jenaiah had been up for almost half an hour now. One of Jordan Parrish’s colleagues had dropped off some clothes for her – pajamas and new clothes for today. The young man had given them to her and had let her get dress on her own.

The young girl was now eating cereals out of a bowl, while Jordan watched her silently at the other end of the table. His cat was feeding as well, eating dry cat food out of a pet’s bowl.

“How did you sleep?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “It was okay,” she replied before starting to eat her cereals again. “Thanks for giving me your bed. And you?”

“And me what?” he wondered out loud, confused.

“How did you sleep?”

“I slept well, thank you.” It was a lie, of course; that thing he used as a couch wasn’t nearly as comfortable as the bed he was used to sleep in. “I’ve got another question for you before we go. You haven’t mentioned Stiles to anyone, have you?”

She shook her head no. “I haven’t said a word,” she said with a soft voice. “I told you I wouldn’t.”

Jordan grinned lightly. “Good girl.”

The young man’s tabby cat made its way to her and rubbed itself against her leg. She looked down at the pet with her eyes wide open with curiosity. “What’s his name?”

“Hmm? Oh! That’s Charlie.”

“Charlie the cat,” she murmured as she scratched the animal’s neck. Said pet started purring.

“Yup, Charlie the cat,” he repeated. “I think he likes you.”

“He’s nice.”

“Yeah, he really is. Hey, can I have some?” he asked, pointing at her cereal with his index.

“No,” she refused, redirecting her attention to her food.

“Come on!” he pleaded jokingly, extending his arm.

She hit his hand with all the force a seven years old girl could have. “Go away.”

“Ouch!” he laughed. “I take that back, you’re not a good girl.”

A very light smile appeared on her face. “You’re annoying,” she chuckled as she pushed her bowl in his direction. “But you’re nice,” she mumbled.

“Why thank you,” he said as he took some cereals, and then gave her the bowl back.

“When are we gonna see Stiles again?”

The grin he had so far disappeared all at once. “I don’t think... I mean, I’m not sure we’re gonna see him very soon.”

It was the girl’s turn to lose her grin. She lowered her head. “Oh, I see.”

Jordan felt the need to say something but before he could, there were knocks on the door. “Stay here,” he told Jenaiah, who merely nodded.

The young deputy walked up to the door of his apartment, which he opened. Several of his colleagues stood there, waiting for him.

Jenaiah listened to their conversation attentively. They were talking about police matters she understood nothing about, so she slowly lost attention for them and instead focused back on her meal.

_Adults,_ she thought as she finished her last cereals, crushing them between her teeth.

She didn’t fully understand what had happened to her family. All she was sure of was that she’d never see her parents and brother again. Thank God Jordan was here – he was so nice to her. Had he heard her cry last night? She didn’t know. She hoped not.

She pushed her bowl on the table as the same time as the young man walked back toward her. “We’re going,” he said softly. “Are you ready?”

She nodded silently.

“Well let’s go, then. Say goodbye to Charlie.”

 

***

 

Jordan Parrish drove silently, glancing every few seconds at his rear-view mirror to watch Jenaiah, who sat on the back seat of his car.

He liked her. That girl was sweet. He wasn’t sure if she fully grasped the full concept of death yet, but he had little to no doubt that she had understood she would never see her family again.

He really hadn’t minded taking care of her that night. Less than one year ago, he had taken care of a child and this was no different. That kid he had looked after was nicknamed Little Carl, and Jordan had come to care a great deal for him. Where was Little Carl now? Jordan had no clue.

What were they going to do with Jenaiah, anyway? Today, or soon enough, they would force her to go in a foster family. He, himself, didn’t know what would be best for the girl.

Jordan thought again about Stiles. He doubted allowing Jenaiah to see him would be a good idea; they would get caught at some point, that much was clear. And if the sheriff realised Parrish had lied to him about seeing Stiles in the woods... Why had he lied, anyway? Maybe it was because he didn’t want to get the kid in trouble.

Once they arrived, he led the little girl to a room for the interrogation. An older female officer started questioning her, first about her family. Jenaiah wasn’t really talkative and looked around the woman to avoid her gaze. More softly this time, the woman asked her about the woods, how often she usually went there, and if she had ever seen something strange and dangerous there.

Jordan was watching the exchange through the two-way mirror. _This is pointless_ , he thought as he crossed his arms. The _whole world_ could seem dangerous to a seven-year-old girl.

Yet Jenaiah seemed to understand what the woman meant. “My dad said he had seen a coyote once.”

“Could a coyote have done it?” he asked the sheriff, who watched the interview with him.

The man shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. According to the coroner, the marks were very thin – way too thin for a coyote or a wolf. Have you seen the bodies yet, deputy?

Jordan turned to face his superior. “No, sir, I’m afraid I still haven’t.”

The man nodded. “Very well. Follow me, then.”


	4. Empty spaces

Stiles had been thinking about Jenaiah all day. Where was she now? Was she okay? He oddly wanted to check up on her but going to the station and asking to see her would most likely result in making his father know about his presence in the woods last night.

Scott didn’t share his concern for Jenaiah. Indeed, Scott having yet to meet the girl, he obviously didn’t care about what would happen to her as much as Stiles did.

After his last period, Stiles came right back home and went through his father’s stuff, trying to find Deputy Parrish’s number somewhere. Lacking luck as always, he didn’t find it.

In the end, he ended up looking up Jordan Parrish on the internet. He found no phone number either, but an address this time.

_Well,_ he thought. _Maybe I’m not so out of luck, after all._

He took a look at his phone to check the time. _6:17 pm._ It was too early, Parrish might not be home yet.

There were repeated knocks on the front door. Frowning, the boy turned the computer off, left the room and headed for the entrance. _Who might it be?_ he wondered as he opened the door.

A tall, muscular and fair-skinned man stood there. He must have been about twenty five years old and his black hair was thick and short. He wore denim pants and a green and gray plaid shirt. He was kind of intimidating.

“Hi, there. Your parents home?” asked the stranger, with a voice softer than Stiles had expected.

“Um...,” he muttered. “My father’s at work. As for my mom, she... no longer lives here with us. Why?”

“Ah, I see. Well you’ll just tell your father, if that’s not too much trouble. I live further down the street, and I’ve never had the opportunity to introduce myself. I’m Julian Thorn,” he said as he held out a hand.

Stiles reached for his hand and shook it. “I’m Stiles. Stilinski.”

The man withdrew his hand with an amused smile, but he made no comment. “Nice to meet you. My brothers and sisters just arrived yesterday, so I’m just going from door to door to apologise in advance for the noise.”

“Oh. Okay, thanks for telling me, I’ll make sure to let my father know.”

“Great!” the man grinned. “Apart from that, I figured it would be nice to finally know my neighbours, so I’m having a barbecue with my sister this Sunday. I’m inviting everyone. You guys should come.”

“Uh, sure...?” Stiles replied hesitantly. “We’ll think about it,” he lied. He didn’t have the time to go to this kind of society events.

“Good! I’m off to the next house, then. See you soon, Stiles, and have a great night!”

“Yeah, you too!” the young man said before closing the door.

_Weird, I’ve never seen that guy in my entire life_. What time was it now? Barely five minutes had gone by. _Fuck it, I’m going._

 

***

 

‘Just for the night,’ the sheriff had said the day before. Yet today, he had asked Jordan to take care of Jenaiah one more day. Not that this was a surprise. The case clearly wouldn’t be solved before quite some time.

The case itself was a complete mess. Three victims, no less. Their injuries – that was the worst part – were nothing like he had never seen before. Actually, yes, they did, but never in such a large quantity.

Paper cuts.

Hundreds of them, on each body. Deep enough to cause important blood loss.

In the centre of the mess was Jenaiah. Bringing her to the station today had been useless: it was clear she hadn’t seen anything that could be related to the murder.

On top of all that, the only two witnesses hadn’t actually seen anything and had acted more like suspects than anything.

 

He sighed as he came back home, Jenaiah by his side.

“So, what do you wanna do?” Jordan asked the girl as he took off his jacket and his shoes. “Do you want to... watch TV?” he offered hesitantly.

Jenaiah nodded, even though the perspective didn’t exactly thrill her. She sat on the couch and the young man turned on the TV.

He sat next to her and yawned. He wouldn’t sleep well tonight either.

The kid started watching a cartoon that he had never seen, and he wondered if watching tv with her would be what he’d do the rest of the evening.

“I’m gonna make dinner,” he suddenly said and rose from the couch. He paced toward the kitchen, wondering what he could do.

The young man opened the fridge to see what he had left.

Two beers. Less than one half of a pizza, which didn’t seem very appealing – he didn’t even remember when he had eaten the first half. Some eggs. He definitely needed to buy some fresh food very soon. The fridge was usually full, or at least contained more food than that, which was surprising. That wasn’t like him. Was he letting himself go? This would have to change sooner rather than later.

Closing the fridge, he looked around, until he finally found some pasta. _Great,_ he thought. _This could do, if only I had any cheese and tomato sauce. Dang._

It was still early – not even 7 pm. He had enough time to go to a supermarket to get some food, and to fill up his fridge. But he couldn’t leave Jenaiah here, could he? At that moment, there were knocks on the door. “Deputy?” one of his colleagues called from outside.

“Coming,” he answered, making his way up to the entrance. Finally, he opened the door. The man who stood guard, Lawrence, turned his head to look at him. “What’s up?” Parrish asked.

“Deputy, there’s a kid who wants to see you.”

“Huh?”

Stiles’s head popped from behind Lawrence’s shoulder. “Hey!”

Jordan sighed. “Yeah, okay, let him in. Thank you, Lawrence,” he said before turning around and going back inside. Stiles, following him, closed the door behind.

 “Stiles!” Jenaiah exclaimed, rising from the couch to run up to him. She clung on to him, pulling his clothes.

“Hey, you!” he smiled, patting her on the back.

She pulled away. “Did you hear about... about my family?”

He squatted to be at the same height as her. “I did, I’m so sorry,” he said before pulling her into a hug.

She held him tight– had anyone even given her a hug? No, since she didn’t have any family aroun, and there was little to no chance that their school friends knew yet. And Parrish didn’t seem like the hugger kind of guy. Who knew, though?

Stiles looked up, only to see the man smiling lightly, his arms crossed against his chest. Stiles then felt Jenaiah slowly pulling away, her eyes wet with tears.

“Stiles, can I talk to you for a minute?” Parrish asked. “In the kitchen.”

“Sure,” the boy replied, before looking back at the girl. “I’m coming back, okay? We can watch TV together. Oh, is that Gravity Falls?”

Jenaiah nodded slowly.

“Then I’ll be as quick as possible,” he said as he got back up. “You can get on the couch. I’ll be right back.”

Her face lit up a little. “Okay,” she murmured as she walked up to the couch.

Stiles turned around and followed Parrish to the kitchen. Once they walked in, the deputy closed the door. “So,” he went.

“So,” Stiles echoed.

“Aren’t you gonna tell me why you came here?”

“Oh, you know. I just wanted to check up on Jenna and on my favorite deputy.”

Jordan raised an eyebrow. “Favorite deputy, huh?”

Stiles shrugged. “Don’t get too flattered, you’re just the only one I know.”

The man chuckled. “Makes sense.”

“No, really, apart from checking up on her, I wanted to thank you. For not telling anything to my dad.”

Parrish looked embarrassed. “Yeah, about that... that was the last time. I’m not a big fan of lying to your father.”

“Okay, okay. There won’t be another time. Just thank you. If there’s anything I can do...”

“Anything?” the deputy repeated.

“I mean, uh. To a certain extent, sure,” Stiles replied hesitantly.

Parrish didn’t need to be told twice. “There’s actually something you could do. Can you watch her while I do some grocery shopping? I have, like, nothing to make for dinner.”

Stiles nodded vividly. He hadn’t expected it but watching over Jenaiah seemed like an alright way to make it up to the cop.

“Great, thank you!” the man said, exiting the room.

Stiles, surprised by Parrish’s haste, followed him. The man was already in the living room near the entrance, putting his shoes on.

“I won’t be long,” he said before putting his brown leather jacket on. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, see ya,” Stiles said absentmindedly, his mind drifting back toward Jenaiah.

Parrish exchanged a few words with his colleague, then looked back at the boy, who was watching the TV. “Hey, Stiles?” he called.

“Hmm?”

“Do you have any experience with kids?”

“Just go!” Stiles exclaimed, trying to enjoy the cartoon.

“One last thing.”

“What?”

“You’re having dinner with us, right?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Just saying it again, I've got four chapters done, so if you like or kinda like it stay tuned. 
> 
> In case you want to follow me or message me or whatever, I have a tumblr blog: borninorlais.tumblr.com.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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